Kyōko Koizumi

Kyoko Koizumi (小泉 今日子 , Koizumi Kyōko ) (born February 4, 1966) is a Japanese singer and actress. She is signed to Victor Entertainment.

In 1981, Kyoko Koizumi participated in and won the Star Tanjo! programme and released her first single in March 1982. She obtained several number one hits on the Oricon charts in 1984: "Nagisa no Haikara Ningyo / Kaze no Magical", "Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge" and "The Stardust Memory", the latter holding the top spot over the end of 1984 and the beginning of 1985, and thereafter established herself as one of Japan's most popular pop idols, alongside rivals Seiko Matsuda and Akina Nakamori.

Her biggest hit (あなたに会えてよかった) came in 1991, which sold more than a million copies in Japan alone. Koizumi went on to release another single (優しい雨) which also sold over a million copies in 1993.

Koizumi had singles reach the Top Ten for 12 consecutive years between 1983 and 1994, a female solo artist record, until this was broken by Namie Amuro. In the 1990s, she released a few dance remixes on vinyl only under the Koizumix Production moniker. She has worked with Yoko Kanno who composed the music for Koizumi's 1996 album, Otoko no Ko Onna no Ko. She had her first hit single in 18 years when her version of the song "Shiosai no Memorī" from the 2013 NHK morning television drama Amachan, in which Koizumi also acted, reached number 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart. With that, Koizumi made her 6th appearance (as a special guest performer) in the annual Red and White Song Festival, having previously participated from 1984 to 1988.

From mid-90s onward, Koizumi shifted her focus onto acting. As an actress, she played in numerous dramas and movies, most notably, she was cast in two of the most successful movies in Japan ever: as the serial killer in Bayside Shakedown: The Movie (1998) and as the witch in Onmyoji (2001).

She starred in Toshiaki Toyoda's 2006 film Hanging Garden and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2008 film Tokyo Sonata. She starred in Kurosawa's 2012 television drama Penance.

Koizumi was given the Best Actress award at the 1989 Yokohama Film Festival for her work in the film Kaito Ruby. She won the award for best actress at the 26th Hochi Film Awards for Kaza Hana.[10] She also won the award for Best Actress at the 66th Mainichi Film Awards for Mainichi Kaasan.[11]

She featured in the French-Japanese film, Umami, directed by Slony Sow and starring Gérard Depardieu, which was filmed in Hokkaido, Japan and Saumur, France.[12]

She married actor Masatoshi Nagase in 1995,[13] the couple divorced in 2004.[14]

As of 2023, Koizumi released 27 original albums, 22 compilation albums, 40 physical singles, 10 digital singles and 17 home-videos.[15]